I thought at first Golden State was going to be more science-fictional than it was, since the backdrop is a vote for whether California will secede from the United States. That’s not the point here, though. It’s really an exploration of the life choices and relationships of Julie, a doctor at the VA who’s having a really challenging day. The secession is just a symbol of potential future, whether breaking up allows for more options than staying with something troubled […]

Fangirl is an amazing story, the kind of college experience we all wish we could have. Cath is a fanfic writer, and a good one. She is best known for stories pairing up Simon Snow, boy magician, with his vampire roommate Baz. She used to write with her twin sister Wren, but they’ve been growing apart. Even so, Cath is surprised when Wren declares she’s going to room with someone else as they go off to college. Cath’s first year […]

Out next month is Don’t Even Think About It, a mash-up of Gossip Girl and The X-Men by Sarah Mlynowski. When 22 high school sophomores in New York City get flu shots, none of them expected the side effect of telepathy. Now no one can keep secrets, and they find out what their parents and classmates are really thinking. Pi is the unofficial leader of the group, a girl who’s constantly working hard to make her intelligence apparent because she […]

It’s not out for a couple of months yet in the US (due April 22), but I enjoyed She Is Not Invisible so much that I couldn’t wait to write about it. It’s the story of Laureth, a sixteen-year-old girl who takes her seven-year-old brother Benjamin from England to New York to find their missing father. Only she’s blind, so the travel plans are a bit more complicated than simply borrowing Mom’s credit card. And Benjamin’s got his own weird […]

Nick Bantock is still best known as the artist behind the epistolary stories of Griffin & Sabine. Those books (six in all, first released over 20 years ago) were a kind of pop-up for adults, with postcards and letters included in gorgeously decorated envelopes, accompanied by made-up stamps from non-existent places. (And now the first three have been optioned for a film.) Bantock’s newest book is something entirely different. The Trickster’s Hat: A Mischievous Apprenticeship in Creativity is an artist’s […]

I enjoyed How to Fight, Lie, and Cry Your Way to Popularity (And a Prom Date) from Zest Books, so I sampled three more of their list books. Reel Culture: 50 Classic Movies You Should Know About (So You Can Impress Your Friends) by Mimi O’Connor Preview pages The films covered in this volume are classics selected based on a general idea of cultural awareness — which movies you should know to recognize references and quotes and significant points of […]